Ice Cream Man

The Vans Warped Tour celebrated its quinceañera this year, once again assaulting summer concertgoers with its ever-evolving concoction of rock music. Despite being dominated by punk bands in its inception, the tour has morphed into a show heavily comprised of screamo acts and their derivatives, with 2009 marked by an onslaught of synthesizers.

This year boasted a scaled down show, consolidating main stages and allowing bands to play forty minute sets instead of the half hour limits designated in the past. The Hurley stage basically acted as a substitute second main stage, drawing some of the largest crowds of the day. Being the last stop of the tour, several of the more established Warped acts, including Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, and Anti-Flag, skipped out. Regardless, the tour arrived with the same components that have allowed it to thrive for so many years—fiery fans and passionate bands.

It’s a testament to the tour’s staying power that its age now surpasses that of many of its attendees. The parking lot of the Home Depot Center was packed with kids decorated in trendy neon body-hugging garb. Many teens sported shirts with bright cartoon lettering splashed across them, punctuated by various chimerical creatures, proudly declaring whatever band they had come to support. As always, the venue was peppered with a smattering of old-time punks and the rare parent brave enough to face the pubescent throngs.

Sticking to its Vans inspired extreme sports roots, a half-pipe was situated next to the main stage. When we stopped by, a group of six girls were showing off their skateboarding skills for a curious crowd. Six-year-old Maya, with her powder-pink helmet and long blond hair, educed hearty applause from the impressed audience. The usual string of vendors snaked between the stages, advertising bands, beverages, record labels, merchandise, and sponsors. A plastic petting zoo, complete with a cow, pig, llama, and sheep, provided a nice respite for sun-baked fans. The Goodyear Blimp hung languidly above, observing the action.

A constant crowd of people gathered around the giant board that had been erected to display band times and corresponding stages. UnderOATH’s unfortunate time slot assignment of 11:15 coincided with the doors’ opening, meaning many of their fans were stuck waiting in line to enter while they played. A ripple of complaints regarding this injustice could be heard throughout the day from offended fans.

We first caught the tail end of Breathe Carolina, who appeared on the SmartPunk stage offering their blend of electronica/screamo infused music. Exhibiting saccharine vocals and dance inducing beats, this band seemed to tug at the heartstrings of teenage females in attendance. Weaving through the dense assembly of people, we next saw six-piece post-hardcore melodic tornado Scary Kids Scaring Kids on the Hurley stage. Always emanating mass amounts of energy in their live offerings, they put on an awesome show despite being sans lead singer, Tyson Stevens. Their last song particularly excited the audience, and fans jutted their arms in the air, fluttering their fingers to emulate rapid guitar solos. Also playing early in the day, Total Chaos tore up the Punk Rock Legends stage, dedicating their set to punks young and old.

Thrice played a solid set, starting out slowly but erupting several songs in. Fan favorites such as “Artist in the Ambulance” incited the crowd to a breaking point—during the second to last song, singer Dustin Kensrue suddenly commanded his bandmates to stop playing and berated the crowd for being too violent. Exasperated, he implored his fans to stop “ruining it” for everyone by hurting each other. They responded with the resounding chant, “Play! Play! Play!,” and Thrice launched into their final song of the tour.

After Thrice’s unconventional ending, the main stage audience vehemently welcomed follow-up act, The Devil Wears Prada. Blasting the crowd with their signature heavy metalcore riffs, low barks, and well-placed breakdowns, fans exploded into a maelstrom of sweat, flesh, and flailing limbs. As the Christian band finished their set, the sun intensified, and people scattered to occupy every edge of shade available.

Next, we trekked over to opposite side of the venue to catch a polar opposite act: P.O.S. In his third year appearing at Warped, P.O.S. continues to bring a fresh perspective to both the tour and the genre of hip-hop, arduously spewing slick lyrics saturated with social significance. Although his audience may have been anemic compared to other acts, P.O.S. effortlessly won new fans with his charismatic energy and unique style. Regrettably, we only witnessed a sliver of his set as we ran to catch Alexisonfire.

Post-hardcore Canadian chart toppers Alexisonfire, who recently released their new album Old Crows/Young Cardinals, supplied my personal favorite set of the day. Between vocalist George Pettit’s stage prowl and bassist Chris Steele’s epileptic antics, their performance was electric. They passionately belted out a strong set that included “Boiled Frogs,” “We Are the Sound,” and “Accidents.” George Pettit ended his Warped Tour residency by ripping open a Monster can with his teeth before launching himself into the waiting arms of the crowd, breaking his mic in the process.

In an attempt to spread the word about set times and stage assignments, bands had plastered the sidewalks with posters and sent street teamers wandering around, holding signs in the air like zombie billboards. Often, fans will encounter conflicting time slots. We stumbled upon this issue when A Skylit Drive and Chiodos played simultaneously on opposing stages, forcing us to pick one. We opted for the former, but later wished we had chosen the latter.

Some concert-goers started to wilt towards the afternoon’s end, but others gained a second wind while watching A Day to Remember destroy the Hurley stage with their mélange of pop-punk and metalcore. Their performance ignited a flurry of excitement and a rainstorm of empty water bottles thrown by euphoric fans.

The standout performance of the day was delivered by British group Gallows, whose music falls in the vein of old-school hardcore groups such as Black Flag. In true bottom-up, punk rock fashion, members of Gallows played a good portion of their set on the concrete in front of the stage. Their singer, Frank Carter, whose attitude is as fiery as his hair, stalked around snarling at fans. His hardcore manifesto advocating good music and reviling pre-teen females that populated the show elicited riotous applause from his crowd. Spewing obscenities and threatening broken noses, he demanded that the audience form the world’s biggest circle pit ever around the sound booth. His fans promptly complied, creating an unruly human centrifuge which ultimately erupted into simultaneous hardcore dancing.

Closing out the main stage to the most substantial crowd of the night were current MTV darlings, 3OH!3. As the first sounds rumbled through the speakers, fans shot up their hands forming the duo’s name, pronounced three-oh-three, with their fingers. Although the group has garnered criticism for their overtly misogynistic lyrics, they have also gained a fast following of intense fandom. Emerging to the stage, they energetically served their electronica laced version of rap-rock, causing the crowd to go wild over catchy dance staples like “Don’t Trust Me” and “Starstrukk.”

Being the last stop of 2009, every band spouted off obligatory speeches eulogizing this summer’s tour. Although Warped has become a schizophrenic tour, oscillating between remaining true to its roots and evolving with new trends, it manages to balance the two successfully. Many of today’s well-known bands honed their musical chops and collected new fans at punk rock’s summer camp, and proving its ability to evolve and remain relevant will hopefully keep the tour crossing the country for years to come.